Coconut bashing in Balinese long-tailed macaques

We are documenting intragroup and intergroup variation in this complex extractive foraging technique.

We are investigating the development and mechanisms (e.g., kinematics) of coconut bashing.

Fined-tuned sensori-motor coordination is needed in order to produce a first crack in the coconut shell from which the monkey can drink the coconut water before cracking the coconut open and access the white pulp.

Following the perception-action theory (or affordance learning theory), we hypothesize that playing with coconuts allow immature individuals to acquire some familiarity with the properties of this fruit, which may have functional consequences in the future.